Midnight at the Well of Souls

At the heart of a bizarre planet lay the goal of every being that had ever lived.… Below average in height and unprepossessing in appearance, Nathan Brazil is an unassuming if cynical starship owner, carrying passengers and cargo for a living - hardly the sort of person to hold the fate of the entire universe in his hands. But when Nathan detours from his route to answer a distress call, a hidden stargate hurls him and his passengers to the Well World, the master control planet for the cosmos. Billions of years ago, a godlike race unlocked all the secrets of space and time and remade the universe according to their grand design.

Lilith: A Snake in the Grass: The Four Lords of the Diamond, Book 1

Aliens are spying on Earth from one of the four worlds that make up the Warden Diamond. But it is impossible to send agents to any of the four worlds because of unique microscopic symbionts that make it impossible for visitors to leave the Diamond. Seeking a unique solution, each of the four worlds making up the Diamond is sent a person whose mind has been stripped of everything and who is now controlled by an agent of the Confederacy. Lilith is the first planet to be visited.

Spirits of Flux & Anchor: Soul Rider, Book 1

Cassie did not feel the soul rider enter her body...but suddenly she knew that Anchor was corrupt, and that, far from being a formless void from which could issue ony mutant changelings and evil wizards, Flux was the soure of Anchor's very existence.

The price of her new knowledge is exile, yet Cassie and the Rider of her soul are the only hope for the redemption of both Flux and Anchor.

And the Devil Will Drag You Under

Asmodeus Mogart was not a bad fellow, as demons go. Having gotten in trouble back in the home office, he had been assigned to duty on Earth. There he toiled, doing the kinds of things demons do and turning into something of a drunk. Then a rogue asteroid threatened to crash into Earth and destroy all life on the planet - demons included! There had to be a better way. Mac Walters and Jill McCullough, holding a private wake for their world in a Reno bar, were more than startled when a strange-looking little drunk told them they could save the world.

When the Changewinds Blow: Changewinds Saga, Book 1

She was haunted by thunder and plagued by dreams... Strange, dark dreams of a world beyond time and space, a land of magic and mystery. But Charley knew it was more than a dream - for her friend Sam shared her vision. Suddenly, the dreams become a reality... As a raging storm sweeps Charley and Sam to the fantastic land of Akahlar, where unicorns and griffins run free, an enchantress commands a den of unearthly pleasures, and a wizard warns of a terrifying inescapable event.

The Birth of Flux & Anchor: Soul Rider, Book 4

The strange and haunted place called World has been a land divided between the stability of Anchor and the chaos of Flux - a land of near magic, where reality yields to madness. It is in this universe that courageous men and women battle treachery, rebellion, and hellish forces to establish a New Eden.

A Jungle of Stars

Paul Carlton Savage died on July 20, 1969, in Vietnam - but that was only the start of his troubles! Approached by a mysterious entity called The Hunter, Savage was offered immortality in exchange for his services in The Hunter's continuing war against The Bromgrev. Suddenly, Savage found himself pitted against an enemy he had never seen, an enemy who could be anyone, anywhere, at any time . . . an enemy determined to destroy him and all who got in his way.

The Cybernetic Walrus: The Wonderland Gambit, Book 1

EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW IS WRONG. That was the strange message left on Cory Maddox's e-mail.... That was the strange message left on Cory Maddox's e-mail - just at the moment when years of work on a revolutionary subspace computer system was about to pay off. Nothing would be the same for Cory again. Suddenly his life was thrown into chaos when the company that controlled his patent was sold out from under him, and instead of imminent wealth, Cory was facing immediate poverty. Then along came Alan Stark, who wanted to recruit Cory for a special research project on virtual reality.

The Messiah Choice

Sir Robert McKenzie, owner of the Magellan Corporation, dies suddenly in a mysterious and grisly way. His daughter may be next, for a Satanic cult is determined to herald the arrival of the apocalypse. Greg MacDonald unravels the mystery of the cult, run by scientists with a distorted sense of duty and a computer that may be the Antichrist itself.

The Web of the Chozen

Nobody beats Bar Holliday. He was paid to find the Terraformable worlds, new planets for his corporation to plunder. Up until the day he came upon Peace Victory, an abandoned generation ship hovering ominously above a definitely habitable planet, he believed nobody ever could. Nobody beats Bar Holliday....because he was never satisfied with anything lower than first place, because he was always the oddball, in charge of his own welfare, his own destiny...a man determined to make his mark in the world and win games at any cost.

Godsland Epic Fantasy Bundle: Godsland Series, Books 1 Through 9

Catrin Volker dreams of a peaceful life training horses. It's not to be. Comets appear in the night skies, announcing the return of a goddess. While trying to save her friend from bullies, Catrin unknowingly triggers powerful, ancient magic and fulfills a prophecy that says she will destroy entire nations. Her quest for peace captures the imagination with fantastical landscapes, magic, and dragons.

Metal Boxes

Coming of age can be hard for anyone. But for Blackmon Perry Stone it is life threatening. At 15, he barely manages to graduate from the empire's cadet training by a talent for unusual problem solving. He has trouble settling into navy life, but life becomes harder when he uncovers a ring of thieves aboard the huge ship. Life becomes difficult when they killed him.

The Moreau Factor

A hard-living reporter long past his Pulitzer Prize-winning prime, Chuck Vallone is about to meet a renowned geneticist who needs to clear his conscience. But when Vallone arrives at their rendezvous, he finds the D.C. hotel swarming with government agents. The scientist's room is now a grisly slaughterhouse splattered with blood - but no sign of a body.Vallone knows he has the story of the century, especially when he receives a mysterious package filled with a computer disk and strange samples of DNA. Now he's determined to uncover the truth.

The Dragonbone Chair: Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book One

A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard - for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Siti, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die.

Crusade: Starfire, Book 1

Spacers call the warp point Charon's Ferry. No star ship has ever entered it and returned since a vengeful Orion task force pursued a doomed Terran colonization fleet into it in 2206. Almost a century has passed. The fiery hatreds of a quarter-century of warfare between the Terran Federation and the Zheeerlikou'valkhannaieeee, the cat-like species humans called the "Orions", have eased at least a little.

Wizard Scout: Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles, Book 3

Richard is only in his junior year at the Academy, but it may well be his last. The war with the bat-like Crosioians is straining the resources of the Intergalactic Empire to the breaking point. Every soldier is needed on the front lines to stave off the Empire's destruction. Not to mention politicians are eyeing the Academy as a financial drain that can no longer be justified. To top things off, teams of spell-wielding magic users have been spotted reconnoitering near the Academy.

The Naked God: Night's Dawn Trilogy, Book 3

Quinn Dexter is loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she manages to acquire some strange and powerful allies whose goal doesn't quite match her own. The campaign to liberate Mortonridge from the possessed degenerates into a horrendous land battle, the kind that hasn't been seen by humankind for 600 years; then some of the protagonists escape in a very unexpected direction.

Alice: Alice Series #1

Captain Jacob Thomas, USMC, is a divorced combat veteran just trying to get his life back on track. Returning to the marine corps after a failed attempt at reconciliation with his estranged wife, Jake volunteers for a DARPA experiment that catapults him into a future where humanity has been stripped of 200 years of technological advancements and more than half its population. With the help of a faceless benefactor named Alice, he escapes the confines of an abandoned lab facility.

Wizard Cadet: Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles, Book 2

Richard, a cadet at the Intergalactic Wizard Scout Academy, is on assignment to retrieve a defecting scientist on a planet deep behind enemy lines. In theory, it should be a simple in-and-out mission. But as Richard learned long ago, nothing is ever simple. With a deadly Crosioian scout hot on his trail, Richard soon finds himself stuck with a couple of super-genius children who may hold a secret that could mean the salvation or destruction of three galaxies.

Age of Myth: Book One of The Legends of the First Empire

Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever. Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer. Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom. And Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people.

Publisher's Summary

Long ago, the machines had rebelled, wiping out most of humanity and exiling the survivors in widely scattered reservations. Master System ruled unchallenged, the key to breaking its power - five microchips disguised as gold rings, carefully hidden away. But then an Amerindian called Hawks stumbled across information about the five rings, and suddenly Master System developed an interest in seeing Hawks dead....

I bought and first read this book in its first printing back in the eighties and now it's available on audio. It's wonderful to find old treasures like this brought to another generation to enjoy, Unfortunately Jack L Chalker passed away in 2005 but his visions still live on in his many books.

Lords of the Middle Dark still stands the test of time if you are able to forgive minor issues like the fact that computers no longer require large spaces

The plot and character development is rich, and one could imagine a future like this could actually exist.

A group of scientists fearful of mankind destroying its self created a computer called the Master System to keep mankind safe. Master System took over control and basically de-populated Earth by moving moving most of the humans to other planets. Adapting people and planets but still keeping them mentally if not physically "human" to do so

Earth, and the small population's living there are ignorant of Technology. China has reverted to Warlords and peasants, America is basically a Native American Indian Reservation. etcEarth is protected museum of what culture and life was like before Technology in each major culture.

An few people that show promise are chosen to learn and have access to the Technology controlled by Master System. Every so often these people must give up their technological lifestyle and return to their native people and lifestyle for a while. Master System basically uses these people and native leaders to run the various planets whilst keeping and eye over their shoulders ensuring that the planets under its control remains in the stasis of a pre-technoligal it has imposed.

Master System isn't malevolent, it's just following it's directive to protect humankind from itself as programed by its creators.

Master Systems creators fashioned 5 rings that could be used to control Master System and directed it to ensure they were always in the hands of humans but with most of humanity altered physicality to be able to live on the planets they now live on, any search for the rings is a daunting almost impossible task.

This book introduces us to this world and to an American Indian called Hawks who stumbles across information about the five rings, when on his "leave" however such knowledge is basically a death sentence. Hawks needs to evade Master System and gain allies . . . whilst keeping his "tribe" safe . . .

China (a Chinese Warlords daughter) story is interwoven in the book. Both gain allies whilst they battle the system to survive in any way possible . . .

I don't believe reviews should include major spoilers so for those who read this to find some . . . sorry

I hope i have whetted your appetite enough that you will listen to this excellent book the first in the series of The Rings of the Master.

I read most of Chalker's work back in High School, and requested that Audible make it available (as I'm sure did others). Chalker does speculative SF very well, and has a lot of creative ideas in his books. While certainly some of it is derivative, most of his books are far less derivative than most other authors, and he has a lot of ideas which are uniquely his. This particular series, while voice-acted very well, isn't my favorite (though I had to listen to it again to realize that). His other series, like the Well of Souls, are much more creative and interesting IMHO. Don't get me wrong, this series isn't bad, and like his other books, his universes are well thought out and self consistent. I just found myself getting a little bored as I listened through this series.